Shawn Warren fires final-round 71 to win State of Maine Championship

CARRABASSETT VALLEY, Maine – For Shawn Warren of Nonesuch River Golf Club, the third time proved to be the charm at the State of Maine Championship. For the third time in the last four years, Warren held the lead going into the final round. Unlike previous years, however, he wasn’t about to let this one slip away.

Warren finished the tournament at four under par, while Seavey finished at one under after his final-round 73. They were the only two players to break par for the tournament.

Though this year’s tournament featured none of the drama of last year’s championship, which came down to a sudden-death playoff hole, things did get tense down the stretch. Seavey cut Warren’s lead to two strokes on the seventh hole (their sixteenth hole of the day), after Warren took a bogey 5 and Seavey birdied. Seavey took par on the eighth, however, while Warren notched a birdie to take a three stroke lead and lock up his first State of Maine title.

David Grygiel of Tee N’Tee Golfland took third place after a final-round 75 put him at four over for the tournament. Jerry DiPhilippo of Portland Country Club was fourth at five over, and defending champion John Hickson of Dick’s Sporting Goods was alone in fifth at seven over par for the tournament.

Michael Nowak followed his first-round 75 with a 77 on Wednesday to lock-up sixth place overall and take home the amateur title.

The State of Maine Championship is an annual 36-hole medal play tournament, which matches Maine’s top professional and amateur golfers in junior, senior, and 18-50 year-old categories. To compete in the tournament, professionals must be a member of the Maine Chapter of the New England PGA, while all Maine residents are eligible to compete in the amateur category.

The Sugarloaf Golf Club has hosted the event for the past 10 years, and 18 out of the past 20 years. The course has proven to be a challenge for even the best players, rewarding good shots while punishing poor ones.

The Sugarloaf Golf Club was recognized by Golf Digest as Maine’s #1 Golf Course once again this year, for the 27th time in its 28-year history. The Robert Trent Jones, Jr. design is sculpted from the natural terrain that lies in the Carrabassett River valley. The most memorable holes on the course, the String of Pearls, is a six-hole sequence that runs alongside the Carrabassett River.

About Sugarloaf– Located in Carrabassett Valley, ME, Sugarloaf is largest ski area in the East, and is home to the only lift-serviced above treeline skiing and riding in the East. and the number one golf course in Maine, according to Golf Digest. Sugarloaf is a member of the Boyne Resorts family of resorts and attractions. Follow: www.sugarloaf.com, www.facebook.com/sugarloaf, and http://twitter.com/sugarloafmaine.